Eurovision Voting Data Shows Few Hundred Votes Could Influence Outcome

More than 56 million viewers watched last year’s Eurovision Song Contest final, making it the world’s most watched cultural event. Those viewers cast 14 million votes to select the winner, organizers said. Questions arose almost immediately afterward about whether an Israeli government advertising campaign had affected the popular vote for Israel’s contestant.

Organizers publicly stated there were no voting irregularities. They also told broadcasters privately that Israel had not influenced the result. The New York Times reported that the organizers did not commission an outside review and did not release voting data, saying that doing so would undermine the contest’s security.

Data obtained by The Times shows that in some countries just a few hundred votes would have been enough to secure a popular vote victory. This makes the contest more susceptible to government influence campaigns than organizers have previously stated.

Spain, Israel won the popular vote even though polls indicated the public held strongly negative views of the Israeli government. The voting data illustrates how a relatively small number of coordinated votes could alter the outcome in individual countries. Organizers have not altered voting procedures following last year’s event.